William stephen dimes



(No Model.) 1

W. S. DIMES.

PLATE RAGK.

N0. 371,044. Patented Oct. 4,1887.

Fig.1,

v Inverita 7" Witnesses:

hographen Wuhiugmn. D. C.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM STEPHEN DIMES, OF XVOODGREEN, COUNTY OF lVIIDDLESEX, I ENGLAND.

RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 371,044, dated October4,1887.

Application filed April 28, 1885. Serial No. 163,748. (No model.)Patented in England October 2, 1884, No.13,082, and in France February21, 1885, No.167,202.

T aZZ whom it may concern;-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM STEPHEN DIMEs, a subject of the Queen ofGreat Britain and Ireland, and residing at 9 Buckingham Road, Woodgreen,in the county of Middlesex, England, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Plate-Racks, (for which I have applied forpatents in GreatBritain on the 2d day of October, 1884, No. 13,082, andin France on the 21st day of February, 1885, No. 167,202,) of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention ofi improvements in plate-racks consists, essentially, inthe employment of curved lateral supports arranged as hereinafterdeseribed,whereby the plates standing on edge are enabled to be arrangedas closely togeth er as is consistent with provision for draining anddrying. By these means I effect a very considerable economy of space, arack constructed according to my invention being capable of holding morethan double the num her of plates and dishes that could be placed in anordinary rack or plate and dish drainer of the same dimensions. By meansof the pe culiar arrangement and adjustment of the curvature of themetallic lateral supports,hereinafter described, the improved racks areenabled to accommodate plates of varying diameters and of all degrees ofdepth in ordinary use with equal facility, and any plate can be readilyremoved from any part of the rack without disturbing the others. Thenumber of parts being reduced to a minimum, combined with the simplicityof form,enables these racks to be manufactured at considerably less costthan the articles heretofore employed. In order to obtain these results,the plates or dishes are supported at theirlower edge,preferably at twopoints, upon a pair of horizontal bars, and are supported laterally bymetallic supports, preferably of galvanized wire, extendingdiametricallyacross the plates,and which follow a curve coinciding approximately withthe profile of a plate or dish, and thus enable the convex side of eacharticle to enter the concave side of the one behind it. These supportsextend, preferably, in an oblique direction across the plates, and maybe either curved or straight in a plane perpendicular to the axis of theplates.

Figure l of the annexed drawings is a front elevation, and Fig. 2 atransverse section,of a specimen of a plate-rack constructed accordingto my invention. 5

This rack is arranged to hold three dozen plates in two tiers and threedishes; but all these numbers may evidently be varied as requiredwithout departing from the principle of the invention. Small racks ofonetier only are very convenient for use in cottages or artisans dwellings.

, The frame (marked A in the drawings, and which may be either wood ormetal) is provided with holes or slots (1 for enabling the rack to besuspended from the wall by common nails or hooks in such a manner as toadmit of its being readily removed and replaced in position. This framecarries lateral arms A, supporting horizontal barsB B, upon 0 which theplates (indicated at 0, Fig. 2) rest at their lower edges, beingsupported laterally by curved supports D, preferably of galvanizedwires, which are curved, as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to allow theplates to be nested 7 5 or telescoped, as it were, one into the other,as indicated more clearly at a, Fig. 1, where three plates arerepresented in section, with the supports D passing between them. Thecurve of the wires or lateral supports D is so regulatedas to admit ofthe insertion of deep soup-plates, as indicated at b, Fig. 1, and

large shallow dinner-plates, as indicated at c,

Fig. 1, with equal facility. The supports D of the upper tier areattached at the upper extremity to a horizontal bar, A of the frame A,and at the lower extremity to the bar B. The curved supports D of thelower tier are preferably connected at their upper extremities to thebar B of the upper tier, Fig. 2, and c at their lower extremities to thebar B of the lower tier. In order to prevent the plates from slipping orstanding irregularly on the bars B, guide-wires D, which mayadvantageously form prolongations of the wire D, 5 are placed across thespace between the bars B and B in the form of a grating; or the sameresult may be obtained by means of pins, pug

jections, or notches on or in the bars B.

The racks may be constructed to hold any [00 desired number of dishes,d, Fig. 1, of various sizes, by means of wire supports D" at one or bothsides of the rack, the said supports being caused to extend obliquelyacross the dishes, and being curved so as to correspond approximatelywith the profile of the dishes, which are thus enabled to stand closetogether, but not in contact, in the same way as the plates.

A gutter, G, Fig. 2, may be arranged underneath to catch the drip fromthe plates or dishes when the rack is used as a drainer and is notarranged over a sink or trough.

In the detailed description above given I have set forth clearly all ofthe parts of a rack containing the invention; but it will be readilyunderstood that in some respects the construction shown and abovedescribed may be more or less modified without departing from the spiritof the invention. It will be seen that I provide a series of stallswherein the dishes can be arranged in vertical or inclined positions,each stall having a stop adapted to enter the concavity of the dish andto prevent it from falling in the direction of the concave side. Thewires D also act as stops to prevent the-lower edge of the dish fromsliding in the direction of eitherface, and the bars B B act as stops toprevent the articles from moving edgewise.

I claim- 1. The combination of the frame having the rear bars, A,constructed substantially as set forth, whereby they are adapted to besuspended from a wall, the outwardly-extending bars A, rigidly securedat their inner ends to bars A, and the bottom dish supporting bars,

B B, with the inclined wires D, rigidly secured at their upper and lowerends to said frame, substantially as and for the purposes 'set forth.

2. In a dish-rack, a series of supportingwires situated, substantiallyas set forth, in an oblique direction across the space occupied by theplates or dishes, and curved in a plane transverse to those of thedishes when. in place, whereby the convex side of one article ispermitted, to enter the concave side of the adjacent one, as set forth.

3. The combination of the frame, the horizontaldish-supporting bars B B,the horizon tal wires D, and the inclined upward-extending wires D, allthe aforesaid parts being secured rigidly together, substantially as tdescribed.

4. The combination of the frame, the horizontal dish-supporting bars BB, the wires D, secured to the said bars 13, and the upward extendingwires D, respectively integral with the wires D, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VILLIAM STEPHEN DIMES.

\Vitnesses:

WM. J NO. TENNANT,

13 Gulmore Road, Pcckham S. L. CHAS. J AS. JoNEs,

19 Spital Square, London, E.

